Beware of Satan

It seems probable that a large number of modern Christians would be somewhat embarrassed if faced with the question. Many would like to see in Satan only a symbolic representation of the evil tendencies in human nature. Others, while giving a notional assent to his existence, could hardly be said to believe effectively in him, to make that belief an active element in their lives: their assent would remain notional rather than real.

Certainly it seems that the Devil is rather played down in modern Christian teaching and writing, and we tend to discount stories, such as we find in the lives of the saints, in which he makes a personal appearance.

It seems useful to inquire why this is so.

Granted that Satan does exist, it would be extremely foolish and dangerous to write him off as mere fantasy. Indeed, as the writer Denis de Rougemont has pointed out, Satan’s great triumph in modern times consists precisely in having caused mankind to disbelieve in him. For if Satan is as mighty and malicious, as close to us, and as intent on our destruction as Christian tradition would have us believe, nothing could be more foolhardy than to pretend he does not exist at all.

Moreover it is a short step from disbelief in Satan to disbelief in the reality of moral evil in any form, to the view that there is never anything morally censurable in crime: that it is simply a disease, as wanting in moral significance as measles or a cold, and to be cured simply by proper medical or psychiatric treatment. Sin, too, as distinguished from the more obvious and violent forms of antisocial behavior which we call crime, has lost most of its meaning and become largely a question of outmoded social conventions or obscurantist prejudices.

Such a climate of opinion may well influence Christians, who live in it, more deeply and in more ways than they realize. It is possible, while acknowledging the reality of sin, to adopt in practice a somewhat cavalier attitude toward it, as something regrettable, of course, but inevitable and not worth all the fuss the theologians and devout writers make about it.

And where Satan is concerned, it is all too easy to accept his existence in a vague and wholly theoretical sort of way while in practice ignoring it. We are often “tempted,” yes; but for the source of the temptation we need look no farther than ourselves. We know so much more nowadays than was known, for instance, in the Middle Ages about our own urges and impulses and motivations. Medieval man, aware of the upsurge of some sinful impulse in him, looked around for a demon, with horns and tail, to explain it; others have changed all that for us.

But there is something very naive and unreal about any such clear-cut distinction between temptations which spring simply from our own inclination to evil and others which might be supposed to be due entirely to the promptings of Satan. In the first place, if Satan does exist and is what Christianity holds him to be, he is far too intelligent to tempt us to forms of evil to which we have no inclination: on the contrary, he will seek to utilize our own particular propensities.

Secondly, we have to accept those propensities as realities within ourselves, yes; but how did they get there? If we look just at the imperfections, the quirks of character, in our friends and in ordinary, decent people, we may well fail to discern any sign of diabolical activity. But what if we take a larger view? If we look at the appalling burden of physical and mental anguish which weighs down the world, and at the still more appalling cruelty, malice, and stark evil which cause so much of it, shall we be so ready to believe that all this is sufficiently explained from within humanity — the humanity we know as normally so decent, so good?

We can invoke, plausibly and indeed validly enough, the psychology of sadism to explain one case of murderousness; this criminal is a diseased man just as surely as the victim of cancer or tuberculosis, and the one simply needs psychiatric treatment as the other needs medical treatment. But then multiply the one example, as we have to, by millions. There is not just something wrong with one man or with a few men; our whole world is a diseased. It becomes less easy to write Satan off as a medieval superstition.

Why, then, do we find it so hard to take the Devil seriously? The question was studied in an interesting essay by Professor Henri Irénée Marrou entitled “Un ange déchu, un ange pourtant” (“A fallen angel, yet still an angel.”) He suggests that the difficulty springs from the fact that we are not really thinking of Satan at all, but of a phantasma, a caricature, against which it is natural enough, and indeed laudable, to react, for it represents not the Devil of Christian theology, but the princi­ple of evil of Gnosticism: as God is wholly good, is indeed the Good, so we think of Satan as wholly evil, as Evil the adversary on more or less equal terms with the Good.

We have to remember, first of all, that according to Christian thought, evil is non-being — a privation. Satan therefore is not evil, pure and simple, as God is pure goodness: he is an angel, and his fall did not destroy his angelic nature. So it is that some early Christian paintings depict him as a beautiful winged youth; after all, his biblical name, Lucifer, the “light-bearer,” underlines this idea of beauty, of dazzling splendor.

He is said in many stories to have appeared to men under monstrous shapes; but these are momentary disguises designed to inspire terror, and are no more a representation of Satan’s angelic nature than the simpering, epicene, winged young men of modern repository art are a faithful representation of the good angels.

In the second place, we have to remember that if we find it hard to believe in the fallen angels, we will find it hard to believe in angels at all. That is part of the penalty we pay for our pervasive materialism. Like doubting Thomas, we are reluctant to believe in anything we cannot see or touch. As Marrou points out, except perhaps for the idea of guardian angels, Christian angelology means very little to us; and he points in particular to the eclipse in modern times of the archangel Michael compared with his important cultus in the Middle Ages.

We might well remind ourselves, therefore, that in this, as in so much else, we are almost alone in the world’s history in the impoverishment to which our materialism has led us; we might remind ourselves that it is, to say the least, somewhat arrogant to suppose that in the unimaginable vastness of the universe, we humans are the sole intelligent creatures, perched improbably as we are on the tiny speck of dust we call the earth. We should be far better equipped for life, and should find life far more interesting, if we were more aware of Jacob’s ladder and had the sense to understand the Christian reality faintly adumbrated in the naiads and dryads of the Greeks.

We would be better equipped to deal with evil and its effects if we realized that while the kingdom of God is within us, the kingdom of Satan can be within us too; and that the Greek satyrs, whom we meet also in the book of Isaiah, should suggest to us something much deeper and more sinister than a mere pagan lewdness. They should suggest something somber and subhumanly degraded, but satanic too; for the satyr is the symbol of man half-dehumanized, half turned into a goat. But traditionally it is the goat who is adored in the witches’ sabbats, for it is the purpose of the warped but still mighty superhuman spirit to rob us of our humanity so as to make it impossible for us to know divinity.

We are indebted to C. S. Lewis for an imaginative presentation of the angelic nature far nearer to reality than the conceptions of the repository artists, and we would do well to reconstruct our mental image of Satan accordingly: an angel like the others, but malignant, his mighty nature wholly given over to the pursuit of evil. God created free beings, beings therefore endowed with the terrible power of retreating from reality into nothingness if they so willed — for, once again, evil is privation, nonbeing, emptiness — and Satan is simply the first of those beings to choose this path. We moderns, with our somber understanding of the will-to-death, should not find that conception so remote from our ordinary ways of thought. We have our own nostalgie de la boue: it is simply the urge to do in our own more brutish way what Satan, in all the majesty of his giant intellect, did in his.

The extreme expression of that nostalgia is to be found in that worship of Satan which is part of human history and is far from being extinct at the present day. We may write off a great deal of demonology and witchcraft as mere moonshine. The fact remains that underneath all that, there is a hard core of hatred of God and servitude to His greatest enemy; there is all the horror and blasphemy of the Black Mass, and the fact of the ravaged souls and psychotic frenzies of its hierophants.

Where all else fails, terror may be the last remaining motive of credibility. There is certainly nothing unreasonable or infantile about a fear inspired by the Mystery of Iniquity; but whatever else it may be, that Mystery cannot be ultimate Reality: to believe in Satan is to be logically committed to belief in God.

But to believe in the Devil is not to believe that every time we are conscious of an evil impulse in ourselves, we must see in it the direct influence of Satan himself. Christian angelology tells us simply that the visible world we apprehend through our senses is not the only reality with which we are in contact; that in that visible world there is another world of mighty spirits, some filled with love of God and striving to help the world through its travail to its ultimate fulfillment in God, and others filled with hatred of God and striving to destroy the world with that hatred and its effects.

It is that evil power that covers the world, as St. Augustine puts it, as though with an aer caliginosus, a pall of dense, murky vapor, shutting out the light of the sun. We speak of being black-hearted: that is what happens when the vapor finds entry into the soul, and we know well enough the horrors, the degradation, and the disintegration to which it can lead. We do well, then, to recognize Satan for what he really is.

In the case of our own temptations, we should certainly be ill-advised to try to distinguish between those which are of immediate satanic origin and those which are not. The important thing is that they are all of satanic origin in the sense that ultimately they all spring from the evil which has twisted and warped the soul of humanity, from that Mystery of Iniquity which is not to be explained in terms of humanity itself. When, then, we think of the story of our Lord’s temptations, we can for practical purposes, when applying it to our own experience, think of Satan simply in terms of those evil suggestions and impulses, rising up within us, with which we are so familiar.

But we are wise to remind ourselves of the mighty power of evil from which they ultimately spring; we are wise to remember the words in which St. Paul warns us: “It is not against flesh and blood that we enter the lists; we have to do with princedoms and powers, with those who have mastery of the world in these dark days, with malign influences in an order higher than ours.” For only if we are persuaded of that shall we be moved to obey St. Paul’s bidding and take up the armor of God so that we may be able to stand our ground when the evil time comes.

We do well to fear the might and malice of Satan, and this story can teach us, among many other things, the fear that we need.

Fr. Gerald Vann (1906-1963) was an English Dominican priest, philosopher, and scholar. He was the author of numerous articles and books about subjects as various as Thomas Aquinas, morality, and warfare. His work reflects a deep understanding of humanity and its relationship to God. He died after battling a long illness in 1963.

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I have an ongoing debate with another about the power of Satan. This other person believes that Satan has only the power with which we give him. But as I have tried and tried to explain he is an angel, with all the same powers of all angels. Thank you for giving me an intellectual piece that I can forward to explain what I have always believed. He is present…each and every day of our lives. We should fear him! I was reading a commentary on the Exorcist and the reason the author wrote it, it was intended to inspire faith and hope for, just as we believe in God there are others who will find God in seeking evil. For those that have pagan friends, I would recommend this Halloween purchasing an original copy of the Exorcist and then pray that God will reveal himself to them. For if we don’t even believe God is present we will never believe that the evil one is here too.

Karenaiden

I was a teenager when the Exorcist first came out. I would never watch it but I still remember how it affected my mom. She was terrified and still talks about it to this day.

Steve Oettinger

I tried to share this on my Facebook page but got this: Could Not Post to Timeline
The privacy settings for this attachment prevent you from posting it to this Timeline.

catholicexchange

Not sure why that is. We’ll take a peak.

Steve Oettinger

Thanks! I’d take a look also, but I’m from the CIA Computer Illiterates of America! It’s happen to several things I tried to post, so It may be something wrong on my end, or Facebook doesn’t like me? Whatever,
Relatively may the odds be with you,
Absolutely go with God,
Steve

Lee

I truly believe that recognizing that there is a devil may bring people to God. It is those who claim to be Christians and God fearing people who do not believe in the devil nor hell that are having a hard time preparing for Eternal life. It is never too late to be saved from the fires of hell if we recognize the TRUTH before our death. After our death we only have believers to pray for us. Will there be any?

PGMGN

I couldn’t agree more, Lee.

PGMGN

I actually just finished reading the Exorcist for the first time – as in yesterday. I was disappointed as the emphasis seemed more toward the doubt and/or perceived holiness of the two exorcists instead of the saving reality of Christ. The ambiguous ending with Chris continuing in her atheism while believing in the demon and Regan, outwardly saved from demonic possession, but in Truth, still being under his dominion because of her lack of baptism fell flat too.
Would that a book that exposes the truth of evil and the strength of God could be written. One that doesn’t have to pull punches, sensationalize, or be ‘uncertain’ in its portrayal of that which is necessary for salvation.

I’m with HIM

Fear Satan? Since Love casts out all fear, I would say, Love more. Strive for that 1st Commandment. This, I firmly believe.
I also wanted to address the comment regarding the disbelief in not just Satan, which I think is the most dangerous, and the short step to disbelief in the reality of moral evil, thus this world’s cure by psychiatric treatment. I can easily see this concept as (already) haven been turned upside down. In other words, the more one grows in faith and becomes dependent on our sovereign, providential God, the stranger the world looks at them, and the stranger, perhaps sadder, the one sees this world to be. Does that make sense?

neilshog

Yes, it certainly does…at least to me.

PGMGN

Yes, that makes perfect sense.

Karenaiden

I am reading Fr. Pascale Parente’s book “The Angels” and he mentions the Bible verse gswf quoted. He says we shouldn’t take this quote to mean that only angels from the Principalities and Powers defected, but as representative and implying the great natural power and cunning of our adversaries. “Even though deprived of all supernatural grace and superadded gifts, the fallen Angels retain their natural power which, in itself, is far superior to the natural power of man.”

Sue Sidey

That being said, and I have the read the book a number of times, surely there is the reality of the saving grace of Christ….but it took much time, prayer and fasting to break the possession of its power. God can use anybody in his own plan of salvation, but when it comes to a Satanic possession, Jesus Himself said in the Bible to pray and fast much for this kind of demon (the head of demons nonetheless)….but yes, the holiness of any person would be in question as an exorcist, the holier the better….because it could otherwise be devastating for one to be unholy trying to exorcise such a tremendous power. If you recall, in the bible the men could not exorcise the demon and they asked Jesus why as they used His Holy name….and this is where the fasting and praying is given as an anwer. And the more we fast and pray, the more we become pure for the task ahead! Just my take on all of this!

Kelli

I think the simple point is that we open ourselves up to evil through our disbelief. In the movie there is a scene showing the ouija board, as if leading the viewer to an understanding of where this all began. Until you have experienced the power of the angels it is difficult to describe it. I believe movies and books of the like, begin to touch on the spirits that travel around us. Sometimes, in the beginning something is needed to spark the faithless. One thought or one moment maybe is all it takes. The catechism even says if for no other reason than fear of God our sins can be forgiven in the confessional. Fear can change hearts. Our words proceed our thoughts, our thoughts proceed our actions, for the good or the bad. That is why it must be a habit to speak kindly. Think of igniting the beginnings of ones journey like igniting a match. People aren’t looking for theology in the beginning, they are simple looking for a sign that God is here or in the case of the Exorcist that evil is real. We play with fire when we go looking for evil.

PGMGN

Excellent point, Sue, about the requisite holiness of the exorcist. That’s not the point I was trying to make. My concern was more that the book highlighted the ‘holiness’ and or ‘doubtfulness’ of the individual priest, that is the cult of personality, instead of the strength of the actual ritual. That is the grace supplied by God through the Church.
That’s why the ending where the atheists remain atheists disturbs me. Blatty in an interview stated that he never intended to ‘scare’ anybody by what he wrote, but rather just create a supernatural detective story. I would say he succeeded in both.
Regan’s possession and the sensationalized demonic episodes pale to me when compared to the complete dismissal of grace at the end and the seeming acceptance of that dismissal by the associate priest who wishes Chris and Regan well – as if they’re A-Okay.
The parents of the child in the story that inspired Blatty’s novel converted and were baptized along with their boy. And that’s a message I’d like to share with Atheist friends, not the ambiguity put forth in the novel.

Lee

It makes sense. It means we must spend more time praying to make right the wrong around us.

PGMGN

Yes, I understand the need to ignite the match, Kelli. That’s a great point. But too may matches are left to go out or just remain stuck in the light-up stage. That’s why I take issue with books that portray clerics as indecisive and – in the case of the Exorcist – seemingly undone by Evil. (That is the true Evil of disbelief and/or lack of choosing/caring not the sensational aspects of a full on demonic possession.)
As for Theology, you’re right on too. Nobody wants to get that shoved down their throat at square one. But again, I loathe the portrayal of priests as ‘one of the many’ grasping in the dark at what to believe. A story can be sound in doctrine without being preachy.
And while the Exorcist didn’t need to end with everyone happily baptized ever after, it’s still my view that Chris stubbornly cleaving to disbelief in God – after the humongous knock upside the head of His Mercy – as a completely wasted opportunity. A grace ignored.
But that’s reflective of what happens every day.

Dan

Aaaah! Had to stop reading at the third sentence. I haven’t read the novel. Spoiler alert!

rosebud

I take exception with the promoting fear of “Ol’ Hairy Legs”. With Jesus as our example, all we need to focus on is the defeat of Evil; The Cross. Evil; came at Jesus with everything it could dish out; pain, fear, betrayal, a mother in agony etc. but it couldn’t break the Love & Trust of our Savior; ” Father forgive them…Into thy hands I commend my Spirit “. Focus – Focus – Focus ! And as an additional ” Power Surge “; always be aware that no one is more precious to Our Lord than His Mother and that She is The Queen Mother with the God given rule over all the Holy Angels (who cast the unholy angels out of Heaven).

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